Biological Sciences

UC Berkeley scientists spin up a robotic COVID-19 testing lab

March 30, 2020
Robert Sanders

As doctors around the country scramble to diagnose cases of COVID-19, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) are creating from scratch a diagnostic lab with the capability to process more than 1,000 patient samples per day.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/03/30/uc-berkeley-scientists-spin-up-a-robotic-co…

Contraceptive researcher Polina Lishko receives MacArthur “genius” award

October 6, 2020
Robert Sanders

Polina Lishko, a Ukrainian-born physiologist whose work at the University of California, Berkeley, has already led to the development of promising new non-hormonal contraceptives for women and could lead to male or unisex contraceptives, has been chosen to receive a 2020 MacArthur “genius” Award.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/10/06/contraceptive-researcher-polina-lishko-rece…

Investment transforms life sciences and business ecosystem

October 23, 2020

With a visionary investment connecting life sciences to entrepreneurship, Mark and Stephanie Robinson are fast tracking innovation at UC Berkeley. The Robinsons have given a total of $10 million to support bio-entrepreneurship at Berkeley, creating resources for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty that leverage our university’s edge in basic science research while preparing the next generation of business leaders.

https://light.berkeley.edu/o/investment-transforms-life-sciences-and-business-ec…

Global Talent for a Global University: The Curci Foundation Ph.D. Scholarship Program

October 30, 2020

Aware of the vital importance of exemplary graduate students in life sciences research, the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation has initiated a scholarship program to provide funding for new Ph.D. students. But its efforts go far beyond simple, across-the-board scholarship support. Believing that all qualified applicants should be included in the life sciences enterprise, the foundation is focusing on two groups that do not traditionally garner the strongest financial support — international students and women. The Curci Foundation Ph.D. Scholarship Program creatively links these two...

https://light.berkeley.edu/o/global-talent-global-university/

In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds

February 4, 2021
Kara Manke

In the arid Mojave Desert, small burrowing mammals like the cactus mouse, the kangaroo rat and the white-tailed antelope squirrel are weathering the hotter, drier conditions triggered by climate change much better than their winged counterparts, finds a new study published today in Science.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/02/04/in-a-desert-seared-by-climate-change-burrow…